The 2024 Paris Olympics witnessed a thrilling spectacle on Sunday, August 4, as Team USA sprinter Noah Lyles clinched his first Olympic gold medal in the 100m final.
However, his road to victory was paved with some rivalry and dramatic moments, particularly in the semifinal race the day before.
The 27-year-old sprinter had to settle for second place in the semifinal and was seen sharing a tense moment with Jamaica's Oblique Seville.
Highlights
- Noah Lyles won his first Olympic gold in the 100m final at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
- In the semifinal, the U.S. sprinter was defeated by Jamaica's Oblique Seville by just 0.02 seconds.
- Noah and Oblique had a tense interaction at the finish line of the semifinal race.
- He emerged victorious in the final, with a time of 9.79 seconds, beating Jamaica's Kishane Thompson.
Team USA sprinter Noah Lyles shared a tense moment with Jamaica's Oblique Seville during the semifinal race
Image credits: Sven Hoppe/picture alliance via Getty Images
Noah was edged out by Oblique in the semifinal race with a time of 9.83 seconds, trailing behind the Jamaican competitor by a mere 0.02 seconds.
But it wasn’t just the times that caught everyone’s attention; it was the fierce interaction between the two sprinters.
As they crossed the finish line almost simultaneously, Noah was captured staring Oblique down.
The 27-year-old sprinter was captured staring Oblique down after being edged out with a time of 9.83 seconds
The real twist came a day after Noah's second-place finish in the semi-final.
In a spectacular turn of events, the U.S. sprinter emerged victorious in the final race, leaving Oblique to finish last.
Noah crossed the finish line with a gold-medal winning time of 9.79 (.784) in a photo finish. He beat Jamaica's Kishane Thompson by five-thousandth of a second while American Fred Kerley won the bronze with a time of 9.81 seconds.
Noah emerged as the new men’s 100m Olympic champion after finishing first in the finals on Sunday, August 4
Noah said he initially thought he lost the gold to Kishane.
"I did think Thompson had it at the end," he told reporters. "I went up to him when we were waiting and I said, ‘I think you got that one big dog.’ And then my name popped up and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m amazing.’
"I wasn’t ready to see (my name). That’s the first time I have ever said that in my head, that I wasn’t ready to see it,” he continued. “ … It was hard for me to picture where we were. I guess that was a good thing."